2023 Presidency: El-Rufai Backs Power Shift To South
Govenor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, on Saturday, advocated for a president from the Southern part of Nigeria in the 2023 presidential election.
El-rufai stated this during an interview with the BBC Hausa Service.
Advertisement
He said “The southern part of the country is supposed to produce the president come 2023; I don’t support a northerner to vie for the seat after President Muhammadu Buhari, based on Nigeria’s political arrangement.”
El-rufai’s comment comes on the heels of the remark made by President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew, Mamman Daura, in which he said he was against zoning of the presidency.
The remark by Daura triggered widespread condemnation by political groups and leaders in the south.
Their condemnation may have stemmed from the unwritten zoning arrangement, where it is expected that power will go to the south after Buhari’s tenure comes to an end in 2023.
Advertisement
Buhari is from Katsina State, North West region of the country.
But according to the Kaduna governor, although the power shift arrangement among the various regions of the country is unconstitutional, it is, however, a political design that must be respected.
“I believe that (there is) no developed country across the world that considers leadership based on where someone comes from. However, in Nigerian politics, there is an arrangement that we all believe on rotational leadership. We are aware of that, anyone who denies that is wrong,” the governor said.
El-Rufai however, said he is against power rotation in Kaduna, even though he supports it at the national level.
He said: “In Kaduna, I don’t work with people because they came from a particular zone, rather, I work with you based on your capacity to deliver on a task given to you and your ability to keep public trust.”
Advertisement
He also denied the speculation that he is nursing a presidential ambition, noting that the speculation has been there for a while from the time he was a minister of the FCT.
“It is a baseless speculation. I don’t want to be president; only God decides someone’s future whether you like it or not, I have never shown interest for the presidency.”
He did not however, say the particular zone in the south he wishes to produce the next president.
There are three zones in the the southern part of the country, namely South East, South-South and South West.
Both the South South and South West have produced a president each, except for South-East.
